www.forbes.com Reuters, 02.05.03, 7:14 AM ET By Richard Mably

LONDON, Feb 5 (Reuters) - OPEC oil output edged higher in January as Saudi Arabia opened the taps to compensate for some of the shortage from strike-bound Venezuela, a Reuters survey found on Wednesday. January production rose 380,000 barrels a day from December to 25.65 million bpd but remained 1.67 million below volumes in November, before the Venezuelan strike, according to the survey of industry officials and monitors. Extra supplies from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Nigeria and Iraq outweighed a further decline from Venezuela where rebel oilworkers kept a strangehold on exports in their bid to force President Hugo Chavez from office. While Caracas by the end of the month had restored output above a million barrels daily, average production was only 650,000 bpd, versus a million bpd in December and pre-strike November output of more than three million. Expectations are for a further gradual increase in February. Geneva-based consultancy Petrologistics is projecting 1.3 million bpd for the month. Saudi Arabia added 500,000 bpd to reach 8.55 million in January. Riyadh appeared ready to ratchet production higher but shipping and industry monitors said it had encountered difficulty in marketing any more. Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi has promised to keep world markets adequately supplied if a U.S.-led war on Iraq comes while Venezuelan output remains hamstrung. Petrologistics is projecting 8.67 from Saudi in February but with spare capacity stretched in most other OPEC members, the group looks likely to fall short of its new February target. Naimi said at the weekend that Riyadh aimed to keep flows from the 10 OPEC members with quotas, excluding Iraq, to the 24.5 million bpd limit that ministers introduced in mid-January. That target is not officially implemented until February 1 but, with Venezuela still way below par, the OPEC 10 in January remained a long way short of the target. They pumped 23.16 million bpd, up 290,000 bpd from December. Apart from Saudi, only the UAE and Nigeria were able to call on spare capacity to add any significant volume, rising by 50,000 bpd and 60,000 bpd respectively. Ironically, second only to Saudi in lifting output was Iraq, helping contain prices at about $33 a barrel for U.S. crude in the countdown towards what most in the oil industry see as an inevitable war. Baghdad's exports under the U.N. oil-for-food programme ran at 1.74 million bpd in January, up 90,000 bpd on the month. It pumps another 750,000 bpd for domestic use and border trade. With possible war only weeks away, the United States easily remains Iraq's biggest customer. Traders estimated Iraqi sales to the U.S. approached a million barrels daily, double last year's average as refiners sought to fill the gap from Venezuela. The Reuters survey seeks a best estimate of flows from OPEC countries based on the views of officials, industry monitors and analysts inside and outside member countries.

www.vheadline.com Posted: Wednesday, February 05, 2003 - 2:47:26 AM By: Robert Rudnicki

According to Coordinadora Democratica negotiator Enrique Naime, the opposition petition held on Sunday has already collected 4.5 million signatures, and this doesn't include those from overseas and from certain provinces that are difficult to access.

Naime claims the petition could end up with around five million signatories, and if President Hugo Chavez Frias has agreed to a referendum on February 2 "5.5 million people would have voted against him, compared to one million in his favor."

• "In the name of Coordinadora Democratica, of the country ... I would like to thank the Venezuela that wants a democratic solution and that says no to violence ."

For these figures to be accurate, the opposition would have had to collect signatures from over one third of Venezuela's approximate 12 million registered voters, a figure that several top government representatives, including the President, have expressed their doubts over.

However, despite the claims and counter claims, there is currently no body that is able to verify these signatures as the new National Electoral College (CNE) board is yet to be appointed.

www.vheadline.com Posted: Wednesday, February 05, 2003 - 2:45:48 AM By: Robert Rudnicki

According to Infrastructure (Minfra) minister Diosdado Cabello, the government will broaden its clampdown on TV and radio stations some time this week, as it launches fresh legal actions like those already taken against Globovision, RCTV, Televen and a local TV station in Tachira State.

"We are working on a large number of cases and they could be commenced later this week, eventually against TV and radio stations."

Although the Minister didn't name which stations figured high on his list, he did say that particular attention would be given to regional TV and radio stations, " but they will be notified accordingly."

• Among the measures that could be taken are fines and other economic sanctions, suspension of broadcasting licenses or the complete revocation of concessions.

Venezuela's privately-owned media has angered the government by broadcasting only opposition advertisements, showing violent scenes during times when children are likely to be watching.

www.vheadline.com Posted: Wednesday, February 05, 2003 - 2:41:31 AM By: Robert Rudnicki

The Confederation of Trade Unions (CTV) has announced that it will do whatever it can for petroleum, merchant marine, petrochemical, educational and other sector employees who have been affected due to their support for the opposition's national work stoppage, which basically came to an end on Monday, with only the petroleum sector continuing to support the action.

Since the strike began over 5,000 Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) employees have been sacked for abandoning their posts and causing severe damage to the petroleum industry, a move which opposition leaders and striking executives claim to be illegal. The government insists that the firings were entirely constitutional, and PDVSA president Ali Rodriguez Araque has warned that more lay-offs will follow unless workers return.

Following a CTV general council meeting, the union grouping's president Carlos Ortega announced that committees would soon be formed to defend the workers' rights and legal action would be taken against PDVSA directors.

www.vheadline.com Posted: Wednesday, February 05, 2003 - 2:35:30 AM By: Robert Rudnicki

Finance (Hacienda) Minister Tobias Nobrega is set to announce a new exchange rate control system tomorrow, and most expect it to be in the form of a single exchange rate, which will be adjusted on a monthly basis followed by a dual rate, later on, with priority granted to food, fuel, medical supplies and government transactions.

The initial rate is expected to be in the Bs.1,600.00 to Bs.1,750.00 to the US dollar range . This compares to the Bs.1,853.00 rate it closed on before being suspended on January 22.

The move will hopefully give the Finance Ministry and the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) the breathing room they need to defend international reserves, which were believed to be slipping at around $60 million per day as the bolivar was being kept artificially high to prevent it falling further.